The Hay Festivals are a series of literature and art festivals held annually around the world, bringing writers and readers together to exchange stories and ideas. This year, the fifth annual Hay Festival Querétaro, held in Queretaro, Mexico,... Read Article
I’ve always had a soft spot for Uruguay. I lived and worked in Montevideo for a spell, and spent a good bit of time exploring the interior, hanging around in the sleepy towns of Trenta y Tres and... Read Article
The last time I spoke to Jorge Drexler it was following the release of Bailar En La Cueva (2014), an album recorded in Colombia and which utilised Colombian rhythms and instrumentation to create some of the most danceable... Read Article
“Whether you like it or not, the only safe place out there is the past” When people ask me for literature recommendations from my own country, I normally go for Mario Benedetti. Not necessarily because I wish to... Read Article
“In Uruguay during 1974 almost anything would be preferable to being interrogated by the army” (p. 441) As so often occurs with vast, ambitious novels, a number of apparently unconnected narrative threads are rolled out from the beginning,... Read Article
Trying to describe Uruguay’s music scene at the turn of the 21st Century in simple terms is tricky, but perhaps describing it as the ‘avant garde’ cousin of rock en español is the closest we can come to summing... Read Article
For more than a decade now, Montevideo-based outfit Sante Les Amis have been working their way up into becoming one of Uruguay’s most colourful and exciting acts. Back in 2012, the band released their debut album Sudamericana: a... Read Article
The infamous ‘War of the Triple Alliance’ (1864-1870) constitutes a watershed moment in the history of South America. The Brazilian, Argentinean and Uruguayan armies joined hands and invaded Paraguay to remove its leader, Francisco Solano López. The sheer... Read Article
“I don’t want to show I have a pretty voice. I want to tell a story,” says vocalist and composer, Valeria Matzner. She spent her early years in her native Uruguay, studying Western classical music, while imbibing Brazilian... Read Article
Uruguay’s Jorge Drexler brings us a new single from his latest album Salvavidas de Hielo. “Asilo” features Chilean artist Mon Laferte and was recorded in just one take. Drexler has described it as “a plea for a sentimental refuge... Read Article
The iconic folk singer and guitarist Daniel Viglietti passed away this Monday in Montevideo at the age of 78. Viglietti was a member of a new wave of Iberian American artists that emerged in the 60s and 70s... Read Article
2016 may well be over but we’re not ready to forget about it just yet. There were many great releases out last year and January is a great time to catch up on them, especially some of the compilations... Read Article
